Connors Drops Out Of Masters Meet

January 15, 1986|By Michael O`Donnell.

Jimmy Connors withdrew Tuesday from the $500,000 Masters indoor tennis championships in New York because of the flu. Connors, seeded fourth, was replaced in the 16-player draw by Andres Gomez of Ecuador.

By withdrawing, Connors guaranteed that he won`t win an official tournament for the 1985 season. That hasn`t happened since he turned pro in 1972.

-- Michelle Torres of Northfield defeated Hu Na 6-7 (4-7), 7-5, 6-4 in the first round of a $250,000 tournament at Worcester, Mass.

VALENTINE SENT TO CLIPPERS

Darnell Valentine, who languished this season on the Portland Trail Blazers` bench, was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers for a first-round draft choice this year and the option of trading second-round draft picks in 1988 or 1989. That would happen if Los Angeles ends up with a better pick.

Valentine, 26, became expendable with the improved play of point guards Steve Colter and Terry Porter. Valentine had played in 28 games this season. He led Portland in assists last season with 6.9 a game.

-- Free agent Bob McAdoo signed a two-year contract worth $305,000 as a back-up center and forward for the Philadelphia 76ers. The Los Angeles Lakers, who released McAdoo last year after winning the NBA title, have 15 days to match the offer. 76ers` general manager Pat Williams said team physicians and strength coach Pat Croce found McAdoo, 34, in ``quite good shape,`` even though he has not played professionally since last June.

-- The Bulls` Michael Jordan may be grounded, but his legend still soars in the hearts of fans who vote for the Eastern Conference All-Star team. Jordan, who played in only three games this season before his foot was broken, leads the voting with 455,855.

ANOTHER TRAVELING VIOLATION

The peripatetic Tito Horford has been denied permission to land at Kentucky. Horford, the 7-foot-1-inch basketball phenom from the Dominican Republic, was told by Kentucky coach Eddie Sutton: ``We are flattered that he would consider UK. However, my staff and I made the decision to call legal counsel Pat Ellis back and recommend that Tito enroll at another institution to further his educational and basketball career.``

Horford played high school basketball in Houston and signed to play at the University of Houston. The NCAA ruled Horford could not attend Houston because an assistant coach visited him during one of the NCAA`s noncontact periods. Horford enrolled at Louisiana State but was dismissed when he didn`t appear at a preseason practice and scrimmage.

-- The NCAA has cited Baylor for 30 specific violations that will cost the school six basketball scholarships over the next two seasons and bar the team from the NCAA tournament. According to the Waco (Tex.) Tribune-Herald, seven players received a total of $2,000 in cash and airline tickets for trips home during the holidays and the use of an automobile.

-- A Hennepin County District Court jury has found Minnesota basketball player Mitch Lee innocent of third-degree criminal sexual assault. The six-man, six-woman jury deliberated three hours. The court room erupted into cheers when the verdict was read, and Lee hugged his mother, girlfriend, friends and Minnesota assistant coach Jimmy Williams.

STILL ON ICE

Todd Bergen, who had been missing from the Minnesota North Stars since Jan. 2, says he walked away because he needed a ``mental vacation.`` Bergen was acquired in late November from Philadelphia, two months after he failed to report to the Flyers` training camp. He had been under therapy for a pulled stomach muscle before he disappeared.

BIG BUCKS FOR A BACK

Running back Kenneth Davis, who was kicked off Texas Christian`s football team for taking cash payment, said he got a deal worth $38,000 to attend TCU. He also said that was peanuts.

``Heck, my case is kind of sad, really,`` he said. ``Out of seven players who were getting something at TCU, I was receiving less than everybody else.

``I had a package deal for $38,000 to go to TCU. Before I was kicked off the team, I probably received about $32,000. I have a lot of it left, but not in money. It`s all material stuff.``

Davis, considered a 1985 Heisman Trophy candidate after he rushed for 1,611 yards as a junior in `84, said: ``This is what I thought college football was supposed to be. The high school I went to had five or six guys get college scholarships before me, and they all came back talking about what they got. When I got back from recruiting, I was boasting about what I got until my high school coach told me I better be quiet.``